My wonderful son

You have to love this smile. It's one of my favorites. My son Donnie is excited about his trip to France on the 29th and he has been wanting to go since he graduated from High school. I am so happy for him, but I wish he could fit me in his suitcase. He will also try to get to Italy also if time allows. He has a wonderful job that requires flying alot and when he was young, we had to use elevators because he could not get on an escalator.

He was my first born and I had him the natural way and I never once regretted it and I didn't find it that painful. Of course I was very shy back then and I listened to whatever they told me to do, so the only thing that really bothered me was the sweat. I had very long hair and it was soaking wet. When I first laid eyes on him, I just thought how angelic he looked and now I look at him as the handsome young man he has grown to be. He is polite, gentle, and kind. Not sure I like the tatooes he has, but most of the time, they are covered up. He enjoys his work at Nike in NYC where he is Divisional Manager for Talent and Development, so his job allows him to travel to many states and see the USA on the Eastern Seaboard and Canada. He enjoyed his trip to Canada in the dead of winter and loved it and has since gone back for a mini vacation.

I know I sound like the bragging mom but let's face it, we all do it from time to time and I am so very proud that my children did not get mixed up with drugs and the wild side of life. Never had to intervene like so many parents have to do these days and I pray hard for todays parents. The social life can have so many pressures and some children just can't resist being part of the crowd. So sad. I will pray for all mothers and fathers that are going through this because I cannot imagine what that feels like.

Other than bragging, I have been a little down lately. My back has been so bad and now I caught a cold and I think it's from the stress. My brother is hard to take and there has been a lot of drama in his life, but he is slowly getting his life straight, but his wife, soon to be divorced in October, keeps calling him, then decided to press charges against him for breaking the restraining order. She called begging him to take her back and I flat out told him, I would beat him with mom's cane if he even gave it a second thought. LOL

 I have got some organizing to do. My craft room is a mess and Al has started buying the lumber for the storage room. I am planning on moving back as the more we stayed apart, the closer we got. I know I walked away, and it's something I regret doing, but we all have to live with our mistakes and mine was a huge one the day I moved to my sisters house, but I can't go back, only forward. I will probably get nothing from our inheritance, but I look at it this way now. I didn't have it before and so it's something I won't miss. God will take care of our needs and sometimes He gives me what I want, so it's all good.
Pet Peeve for today
I hate it when people get into a line that is meant for 20 items or less and they have a full basket of groceries. No sense in having a speedy checkout if you let people check out with their full baskets, while your quick trip for ice cream turns into liquid.
Best get to what I need to do. Hope you all have a great week. Love and hugs, Pat

More wedding pictures of us

We did not have a lot of pictures taken, but here are 3 more of us alone. I have one with my 2 children, but not sure what I did with that one. They didn't know that Al was not their biological father until the ages of 4 and 6. My daughter cried because she thought she was losing her "daddy", but we told her that he loved her so much that she was his daughter and would always be her daddy. I thought that was too young to tell them, but the social worker who was in charge with the adoption said it had to be done. She even spoke with them in private about how they felt about Al, their daddy. My little girl cried all day until her daddy returned from work and assured her he was not going to leave her ever. The adoption process was as ugly as a bad divorce, on the part of their dads. She has met her biological dad, but my son has no intention of ever wanting to meet him. How does a man reject his first born and never want to see him is beyoung my comprehension!!!! But it's his lost because my son is a better man because of Al. He is also keeping his half brother and sister from getting to know him and that bothers my son.

Al's friends wanted him to smash the cake in my face, but I had already warned him, that I would not like that at all and he was a gentlemen about it. They called him a woose for not doing it. I think even with an informal wedding, it's not good etiquette to do such things. We will be married 39 years come November and we are getting back together soon. We still have a few things to work out and hopefully by January, I will be back with him, So please keep us in your prayers.

I had to show you this funny picture from my Senior year. I hated the way they wanted me to look like I was pushing a wheel barrow. Silly, but I had to say with the photographer. My mom made the dress I am wearing as she made most of my clothes and she was a very good seamtress. That is one I wish I still had. It was a pale mint green with white collar and cuffs.

                                                          My brother's dog died, but luckily, we found a man who knew him and he gave his yellow lab to him and my brother is doing so much better having a best friend again. His name is Rocky and although he is not pure breed, he is more lab than anything. Robert had a hard life, but worked while disabled for a very long time,because he can't sit still. I've been doing my best to make sure he eats and takes care of himself. I haven't seen him this happy in a very long time. Needless to say, he is lucky to be alive, because he was being over medicated and was like a drunk all the time and was in a wheel chair and now he is free from that and walking most of the time without his walker. He can even run now, but with the brace, he reminds me of Forrest Gump when he was running.

                                                             Have a wonderful day all of you sweet bloggers. Love and hugs, Pat

A wonderful Day

Great news to report. The Cancer Aid bingo went well considering the small amount of people that showed up. The candy bouquet was put in the silent auction table and went for $80. I was so excited about that. It was the highest bid on any item they had. They also raised $1700 with the bingo and thanked everyone that helped out. I was not expecting that so I was glad I was in another room when they announced my name at the end. I am kind of shy and like to stay out of the limelight, but I heard it and there was only 6 people in the room with me. I donated over half of the gifts they had for the bingo, so had I not done that, they probably wouldn't have made that much and bingo would have ended at 11am instead of 2:30 pm. I did this in memory of my parents, so I was blessed to be able to do it. Charities mean a lot to me and I am always willing to donate my candy bouquets and gifts baskets for causes.

One of my brothers called last night for me to pick him up so he is now living with me and fixed the riding lawnmower and now the yard looks great. He is so thankful and happier than I have ever seen him. Seems he and my older brother couldn't get along and he was happy living with them. My younger sister is also here for a day or two to help get him settled in. I feel good having him here and maybe this will help me and my other sister become friends again. She did call last night to speak with my brother and I do pray she won't take my older brother's side because he is the one who hurt me and pushed me down.

Well I have been up since very early and I had a long day yesterday, so I am off to bed early. I hope to visit you all tomorrow when I am rested more. Love and hugs to all.